Dear Church Family,
It feels as though COVID changed overnight! I am sure we are all still trying to get our bearings. God has been incredibly faithful, and I know we are all grateful for His grace throughout this last season. It has been difficult, but we have survived under the Lord’s protection. He has been active during these last 18 months in my life and throughout the life of Oakdale Church. I am writing to share our vision for what God has for Oakdale as we re-gather and head into the future.
Hope you will come back soon for in-person worship:
- It has been awesome to see many of you back for in-person worship at 9:00AM! On July 4th we will launch a new 11:00AM service.
- We will continue to livestream both services at live.oakdale.church but will only have hosted chat online at 9:00AM.
- Both services will be identical in format. Our worship leaders and band members have been amazing throughout the pandemic. We have sung both hymns and contemporary songs with joy and enthusiasm. This will be our format moving forward.
- We are not planning to return to printing bulletins, it will save money and trees! The sermon notes and announcements can be accessed by visiting oakdale.church/thisweek. If you are in the sanctuary, you can use your smart phone camera to scan the QR code on the back of the pew in front of you.
- We are including more prayer and testimonies as part of worship! Prayer is how we survived these last months and are encouraged and equipped through the stories of disciple-making that are shared each week. You are invited to continue to share how you have been obedient to God’s calling in-person or by submitting a video online at oakdale.church/stories.
- Celebrate Recovery will be back in-person, starting Thursday July 1 at 7:00PM in the sanctuary. Thank you, leaders, for adapting and supporting the Oakdale family online as we worked through our hurts, habits and hang-ups during this difficult period! Also on July 1, I am excited that we will be launching Celebration Place for children from kindergarten to 5th Visit oakdale.church/cr for more info.
We are excited to welcome back our pre-school and elementary children for church:
- Kids are invited to join us at 9:00AM in the sanctuary for the opening time of worship and are then released to enjoy care and training suitable for their ages. All our children’s ministry workers are fully vaccinated. You can visit oakdale.church/kids for more details and how to register your kids.
- There is no pre-school and elementary ministry currently planned for the 11:00AM worship time, but this will change as there is need.
- We will be reopening our nursery during both services very soon and will ensure that every adult serving in the nursery is fully vaccinated. Stay tuned for a future update.
Disciple-making ministry has thrived, here are some highlights:
- We are in the search phase for a new Associate Pastor and have engaged with a recruitment firm for this important process. Given the current denominational situation, we will not be asking for further appointments from the UMC. Please join us in praying for this search.
- God has extended the reach of our disciple-making throughout the pandemic. For example, we have a new house church that meets in Calvert County. This has been a move of the Holy Spirit. Look for more house churches to come!
- God has continued to reveal to us His methods for disciple-making. Some of the staff and others are regularly spending time with our neighbors down on Bel Pre Road and Towne Center Place praying and seeing Discovery Groups start.
- Oakdale is still tracking toward our goal of “sending out 1,200 disciple-makers by December 31, 2022” but our definitions and strategies continue to develop.
- We have had the privilege of taking about 90 lay people and 50 pastors through disciple-making training. These pastors are from all over our country and even overseas. God is doing great things!
Oakdale Church is stronger than ever! We are seeing God unify, empower, and send us out in incredible new ways. While many things are changing, our foundation remains the same in Jesus Christ. God is revealing an expansive vision for how He wants to use Oakdale Church to grow His Kingdom. There has never been a greater need to multiply disciples and I am excited we get to do this together! Thank you for being part of the family here at Oakdale.
Your pastor and friend,
Kevin